warm-up

Let’s get this out of the way first, a warm-up before a round of golf is only a warm-up. It is not a gauge on how well you will hit the ball during the round. Too many golfers go to the range before a round of golf and beat themselves up about how poorly they hit the ball before a round. Don’t do it! Follow my instructions on the perfect 32-minute warm-up that will have you striping the ball all day long.

Start with chipping, I cannot stress this enough…Start with chipping! Chipping prepares the body and mind for impact, it also warms the muscles up before making full swings. This is what I want you to do. Take 2 golf balls from your bag, not the entire basket of balls you are used to chipping and leaving on the practice green. The idle club to start chipping with is a Sand Wedge or 56-degree wedge, head to about 2 yards off the green, pick a hole the is short, no more than a 7-yard chip. Hit those two golf balls, walk to retrieve them and return to the same spot, repeat7-yard yard chip. Now retrieve those two balls and walk 5 yards off the green, pick a hole that will give you about a 10-yard chip/pitch. Perform this shot 2 cycles, retrieving your 2 golf balls between each set. I know, you might think it’s unnecessary to walk and retrieve your golf balls but it helps warm your leg muscles and you are more likely to hit better shots if you have to retrieve the golf balls you hit. This should take about 10 minutes.

Head to the practice range, where things may feel a little different for you. I only want you to hit 4 clubs. A wedge of your choice, a mid-iron of your choice, a fairway wood, and lastly Driver respectively. With each club, you are going to pick a specific target and only hit 5 shots, no matter how the shots land. That is a total of 20 shots on the driving range, this should take you about 12 minutes to complete.
Once you have finished warming up your chipping followed by the full swing, there is only one thing left to do. Putt!

Remember those 2 golf balls you chipped? Pull those 2 golf balls out again and head to the putting green. Pick a golf hole and Start from 2 feet! Start from 2 feet! Start from 2 feet! Make 10 putts in a row from 2 feet. Now take a few steps back to a 5-foot putt, take 4 putts at the hole while looking at the hole. This will help dial in your speed on the greens, you don’t need to make these putts, but it’s fun to make a putt without looking at the ball. Now take a few more steps back to 10 feet. Place your 2 balls down and assume these putts are for an actually counted stroke. Read the putt and stroke it to the hole, your goal is to 2-putt each ball from 10 feet.

Your perfect 32-minute warm-up is now complete, head to the first tee with the confidence that you are ready to take on any challenge you encounter during your round.